Latch



-l uly 29, 1952 c. A. HILLGREN LATCH Filed April 10, 1948 III/111M114 INVENTOR.

Patented July 29, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT (EFF-ICE 32,605,121 LATCH Carl AFH'illgren, Los 'hngel'es, Calif. ApplloationApril in, 1948, Serial No. 20.3201 a claims; (01. 292469) I My invention relates to locks, and particularly to'means for locking, from one side of thedoor, the spindle mechanism at the opposite side of the door. I

Qne ofthe principal objects of this invention is to provide a novel locko'f this class for locking irom oneside of the door, in which the lock is mounted, the lock operating means or spindle at the opposite side ofthe door, particularly for locking the door of one room toprevent access readily thereinto fromanother room, but which is so constructedas to permit access-into the first room by unconventional means, that is, by means other than the usual knob or other ordinary lock-operating means.

Another important object of this invention is to'provide a spring-pressed plunger in the lock casing adjacent the knob of the lock, which may be easily depressed from-one side of the door for locking the door from such side, andin which the'plunger may bereadily released by the operation of-the usual knob, and a structure of this class in whichthe plunger may be readily rotated from the other side ofthe door and permitted automatically to be returned to its-original position for leasing the knob at theopposite side of the door, so as to permit the latter to be freely rotated to operate the look. I

Anotherimportant objector this invention-is to .provide a simple means for engagingthe lock spindle at the outer side of the door and relatively simple andnovel means in the form-of a springepressedplunger for shifting the former means into and out of engagement with said spindle.

An important object also of this invention is the provision of a spindle-locking plunger which, when depressed from one side ofthe door, causes locking of the knob at the opposite side of the door, and which requires rotation of the plunger from the latter side ofthe door topermit the same to be springpressed to itsoriginal position, to permit unlocking of the spindle for operating the look from said opposite side of the door.

A further important object ofthis invention is to provide a lock of this class which may .be

readily installed in the edge of a door.

With these and other objects in view, as will appear hereinaftenl have devised a lock having certain novel features of construction, combination, and var'rangementof parts and portions, as will be hereinafter described in detail, and particularly set forth in the appended claims, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings and to the characters of reference thereon,.which io'r'm a part-of this application, in which;

through 3-3 Fig. -1 is; a partial longitudinal sectionaland partial plan view of my lock, a preferred {arm of construction, mounted in the edge of Ia door, the view beingshown on a plane transverse to t or; 7

Fig. 2 is a partial sectional and partial elevational view thereof, taken at 2-2 of Fig.1; portions being shown broken away to facilitate the illustration;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken of Fig. 1, also showing portions broken away to facilitate the -illu'stration,.;an d showing by dotted lines certain parts in moved positions; I Fig. 4 is a view similar to that of Fig; 3., but

showing only one side of' the lock casing and the spindle mounted therein; I

Fig. 5 is atransverse sectional view thereof, taken through 5-5 of Fig. 2; I I Fig. 6 is aperspectiv view of the spindlelocking member, also showing a portion thereof brokenaway and in section to facilitate the illustration; and I I Fig-'7, is a perspective view-of the plunger tor controlling the shifting of the spindle lockin'g member of Fig.6 I I I H The casing of my look, as illustrated in the drawings, and the'manner ofsecuring the same to a door is substantially the same as that of any lock'sh'own and described in United States patent application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 774,235, filed-September 16,1947, now Patent 2,533,582, issued December 12, -l950.- I II I I The casing consists of a casingv member land a casing cover member 2 The casing' member "I comprises anouter plate lproviding the outer escutcheon plate for the lock, atop wall i, a bottom wall 1, and an end wall i all three walls extending inwardly from the inner side of the escutcheon plate 1 Themember} iorhisfthe inner escutcheon plate and is securedtothe inner or openside oithe casing icy-means or screwsii which extendinto the edges of the top and hottoni walls. I y I M Within the casingat one end portion thereo is mounted ad-atch -boltassembly contained w h-in I a tubular case 4-. This case is held in position by guide flanges l extending inwardly from the top and bottom walls i and I respectively, at rightangles to the I is providedat its outer end with ailangeii, providing a rectangular plate which closes theout'r end of the lock casing disposed between the outer ends of theescutcheon plates is and 2' and he tweenthc upper-and lower walls i and 1'.

within me tubular case a is reciprocals axis of the-case The case mounted a bolt 6 which extends through the outer plate 5, and a bolt actuating element 7 which extends axially through the rear end of the case 4. The bolt 6 and actuating element l are operatively connected by a pivot or rocker so that the bolt 6 is withdrawn, that is, drawn inwardly, when the actuating member 1 is forced outwardly, as illustrated and described in my copendingpatent application, Serial No. 608,160, filed August 1, 1945, now Patent Number 2,544,959, issued March 13, 1951, and entitled Look, to which reference is made for a detailed description thereof.

The bolt 6 of the latch-bolt assemblyis operated by knobs 8 and 9, respectively, at theinner and outer sides of the door in which the lock is mounted. The knobs 8 and 9, respectively, have axially inwardly extending spindles I8 and H which overlap each other at their inner ends, the inner; end of the outer spindle ll comprising a semi-cylindrical shell-ll which is' positioned around the inner side of the spindle 1!],which is 'of semi-circular cross-section, as indicated' by W. The diametrically opposite portions or 'edgescf thesemi-cylindrical spindle engages the upp'er'ahd lower portionsof the inner end of the bolt-actuating member 7, as shown in Fig. 2. The diametrically opposite portions of the inner 'en'dof thespindle to are also adapted to engage the opposite portions ofthe inner end of theboltactuating member-1, as also indicated in this figure1- Y Against the inner side of the escutcheon plate Ifof the casing member I is slidably mounted a locking member having a central opening l2 in the form of an elongated circle, through which the inner'end of the spindle I l extends. This locking member isadapted to slide in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axisof the lock. It is guided at'its forward end between the flanges and its" rear end by laterally extending lugs l2 which may engage the inner sides of the top and bottom plates l and I, respectively, as shown best in Fig. -3. The locking member is normally urged in its rearward position by springs 13 which are located between the locking "member and the walls of the casing member I.

'The ends of the springs impinge against the lugs 1 2 of the locking member and lugs i which 'extend inwardlyfrom; the innerends of the flanges 1 of the casing member l; -When the docking member I2 isurged inwardly by the springs""|3,' a key l2 extending inwardly from the outer portion of the opening [2* is adapted to be "seated within a keyway llat the forward side of the spindle ll immediately adjacent the inner *side of the escutcheon plate 1?, as shown in Figs "ifand 3; r

In the normal operating condition of the lock,

fthie locking member I2 is in a forward position,

as-shownfby dottedlines in Fig. 3, with the key it' withdrawn from the keyway 1 l "This-permits both knobs to be rotated for drawing :inwardlythe bolt 6; Ina locked position, how- 'e'verQthe locking member is in its solid line positiong'which prevents the outer knob 9 from being "operated and permits only the inner knob 8 to draw the bolt 6 inwardly.

The locking member I2 is held in the unlocked 1 position, shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, and the locked position, shown by solid lines, by a springpressed plunger M which is reciprocally mounted in a'longitudinal direction, parallel to the axes of the spindles and inwardly from the spindles with respect to the edge of the door. The inner end M of the plunger extends through the inner escutcheon plate 2, and the inner end thereof is positioned adjacent the inner side of the inner knob 8. The opposite end of the plunger is reduced, as indicated by W, .and this reduced portion extends through the outer escutcheon plate l The outer end of the reduced portion I 4 has a transverse slot I4 whereby the plunger may be rotated. On the forward side of the plunger is a transverse slot hi into which the rear end of the locking slide extends so as to permit the key IE to enter the keyway I l In its normal position, when the locking slide is shifted to its dotted line position, shown in Fig. 3, the plunger is urged outwardly by means of a spring I5 positioned around the plunger and located between a collar M of the plunger and a locking-member retaining plate It positioned at the side of the locking member opposite the escutch'eon plate I At the portion of the plunger immediately inwardly-from the reduced portion I4 is a partially polygonally-shaped portion M having a flat side M which, when new ed behind the locking-member I2, is suificient to unseat the key iz from the keyway l l to permit rotation-of the outer knob,'andthis'flat portion M is resiliently held behind the rear end of" the locking member by the spring l5. By this means, the plunger is retained in the'angular position to effect alignment of its notch lt with the end of the lockin member when the plunger is pressed inwardly.

When desiring to permit the locking member to be shifted to its lockingposition, the plunger I 4 is forced inwardly from the inner knob 8-until the polygonally-shaped portion Ifi is shifted beyond the locking member and allows the latter to fall into the transverse'slot M The shoulder provided at the adjacent end of the poly onal-11yshaped portion M engages the outer side of the locking member and prevents the spring l5 from dislodging the locking member from the slot, and prevents the plunger from being'forced toward the inner knob.

ing the plunger in eitherdirection untilthe cam edges at the fiat side of the slot M cam the looking member to an unlocked position, which permits the'spring l5 to-force the plunger toward the inner'knob, thereby again conditioning the lock so that it may be normally operated from both sides of the door.

The collar I l referred to above islimited' by a retaining plate I? when the plunger is forced towards the inner knob 8 by'the compression spring I 5.' The retaining plate I! is secured to the edges of the top and bottom walls of the casing by screws l8, shown in Fig. 2.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and 'described, 'for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Iclaimf 7 1. In a latch structureya casing 'havingside latch bolt projectingfrom one end portion of 'the casing and adapted for movement from a normally extendedposition to a retracted position, a first spindle rotatably mounted in said casing and extending from one sidewall of the casing, a second spindle rotatably mounted, in said casing and extending fromthe other side wall of the casing, means on each spindle engage- 5 able with the latch bolt for operating the same to retracted position, a locking member independent of said latch bolt mounted in said casing for movement in a direction substantially normal to the axis of said first spindle, means on said locking member engageable with said first spindle to interlock therewith when said lockin member is moved in one direction to prevent rotation of said first spindle, a spring pressed plunger reciprocably and rotatably mounted in the walls of said casing between said first spindle and the other end portion of the casing in spaced relation to said first spindle and positioned in the path of said locking member for normally retaining said locking member in inoperative position, said plunger being provided with a notch for receiving the edge of said locking member adjacent said other end portion of said casing to allow said locking member to engage said first spindle for preventing rotation of said first spindle.

2. In a latch structure, a casing having side walls and end portions, a single spring actuated latch bolt projecting from one end portion of the casing and adapted for movement from a normally extended position to a retracted position, a first spindle rotatably mounted in said casing and extending from one side wall of the casing, a second spindle rotatably mounted in said casing and extending from the other side wall of the casing, means on each spindle engageable with the latch bolt for operating the same to retracted position, a lockin member independent of said latch bolt mounted in said casing for movement in a direction substantially normal to the axis of said first spindle, means on said locking member engageable with said first spindle to interlock therewith when said locking member is moved in one direction to prevent rotation of said first spindle, a sprin pressed plunger reciprocably and rotatably mounted in the Walls of said casing, between said first spindle and the other end portion of the casing in spaced relation to said first spindle and positioned in the path of said locking member for normally retaining said locking member in inoperative position, said plunger being provided with a notch for receiving the edge of said locking member adjacent said other end portion of said casing to allow said lockin member to engage said first spindle for preventing rotation of said first spindle, said plunger having a flattened surface on the side thereof adjacent the notch for engaging said locking member for retaining said locking member in inoperative position while retaining said plunger in position to be slid into locking position.

CARL A. HILLGREN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,357,551 Schlage Sept. 5, 1944 2,420,114 Vander I-Ienst May 6, 1947 

